Sony cloud gaming partnership E3 announcement tipped

Could Sony be planning a major partnership with a cloud service provider, and it’s likely to make that partnership public at next month’s E3 trade show, according to media reports. While the name of the cloud company in question hasn’t been revealed, it could be a significant part of Sony’s strategy to keep the PS3 relevant at least through to next year’s E3.

VG247 reported that Sony will announce a “partnership deal between PlayStation and a leading cloud gaming service” during next month’s big show, where it is expected to give its media presentation to thousands of attendees in Los Angeles. When it comes to “cloud gaming services,” there aren’t exactly a lot of players. The only one that really jumps to mind is OnLive, and a partnership between those two could really be something.

Sony and Microsoft both face a situation that has really never been dealt with before – their competitor, Nintendo, showed off its new console last year and yet there will be no Xbox 720 or PS4 announcements. For the first time in this industry, the announcements will have to be about new online services and life-expanding features that prove to consumers unequivocally that the console they own today will be different by the time Sony and Microsoft are done talking. We’ll see if they can do it.